Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
LAKEPOINT, Ga. – Coming off an ASUN Tournament title and a record-setting NCAA Tournament First Four victory this past March, the FGCU men’s basketball team has been installed as the 2016-17 ASUN Conference favorite, as voted on by the league’s eight head coaches.
In addition to the team honor, Marc-Eddy Norelia was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team, Zach Johnson was also a preseason team pick and Demetris Morant was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year.
The Eagles received six of eight 1st-place votes and garnered 62 points in the coaches’ poll to finish 12 points ahead of 2nd-place North Florida, which collected the other two 1st-place votes. NJIT was picked 3rd, just three points behind the Ospreys, while Lipscomb was slotted 4th. Stetson, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State and USC Upstate rounded out the poll in spots 5-8, respectively.
Furthermore, FGCU was also the preseason league favorite in the media poll, which was voted on by conference media members and school Athletic Communication Directors. The Green and Blue received 412 points and 42 of 52 1st-place votes in the poll, finishing 44 points ahead of 2nd-place UNF (368). The complete breakdown of both polls and the preseason team is at the end of this release.
“It’s nice to be recognized as the ASUN favorite, and they’re also great honors for Marc-Eddy, Zach and Demetris,” said fourth-year FGCU head coach Joe Dooley, whose teams have now been picked as the league favorite three of the last four seasons. “Our guys built a lot of confidence with how they ended last year, and they were able to spend a lot of time together on and off the court this summer and during our trip to the Bahamas. We’ve put together a challenging non-conference schedule which will hopefully prepare us well again for the ASUN, and then everything will be decided in March.”
As one of fewer than 40 teams in the nation with 20 or more wins in each of the past four seasons, FGCU returns nearly 90 percent of its total points, rebounds and assists from last season. The Eagles – who went 21-14 in 2015-16 – claimed the ASUN Tournament title, defeated fellow 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson by a First Four-record 31 points, 96-65, and went on to trail top seed and eventual national-runner up North Carolina by just one point at halftime before falling, 83-67, in Raleigh.
Dooley’s 2015-16 squad posted Division-I program records in points per game (77.2), rebounds per game (40.6), field-goal percentage (47.9), blocks per game (4) and scoring margin (+6.6), and the Eagles will have one of their deepest and most talented teams in program history in 2016-17.
Expected to anchor that team is Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS), who returns for his redshirt senior year after one of the best seasons in program history in 2015-16. Norelia was an ASUN First Team selection, District 3 First Team member, ASUN Tournament MVP, ASUN All-Tournament Team pick and three-time ASUN Player of the Week.
The 6-8 forward shattered the program’s single-season double-double record with 16 – seven more than the previous mark. Furthermore, the southpaw missed six more double-doubles by just a single rebound each time. He established program single-season records in points (597), rebounds (325) and field goals made (234). Norelia led FGCU in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (9.3), ranking 6th in the ASUN in points per game, 2nd in rebounds per game and 4th in field goal percentage (.545).
Norelia became the first player in FGCU history to secure more than 275 rebounds in a season, his point total was 17 more than anyone else and he made 24 more shots than the previous record. His 17.1 scoring average was the best in D-I program single-season history, and his 9.3 rebound average was a full rebound better than the previous record.
Redshirt sophomore Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) is coming off a campaign in which he was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team, the ASUN All-Tournament Team and made the potential game-saving block in the closing seconds of overtime against Stetson to seal the ASUN crown for the Eagles.
The 6-2 guard set the FGCU freshman scoring record with 387 points, surpassing the previous mark of 374. He averaged 11.1 points per game to rank 3rd on FGCU, and he led the Eagles in assists at 3.3 per outing and 115 total – which was best among all ASUN freshmen. In league games, Johnson paced the ASUN in 3-point percentage (.471, 16-34).
Johnson came on strong at the end of last year as he reached double-figure points in 17 of the final 22 games of the campaign, including averaging 16 points and 3 assists in three ASUN Tournament contests. He passed out five or more assists 13 times, led by a season-high seven on two occasions, with the final occurrence coming in the NCAA Tournament First Four versus Fairleigh Dickinson.
Following an injury-plagued redshirt junior season in which he missed 12 games, Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) is fully healthy and poised to serve as a major paint presence in 2016-17.
The 6-9 forward averaged 1.4 blocks in the 23 games he appeared in last year, which would have ranked 3rd in the ASUN, but he did not have enough games played to qualify. He rejected a season-high five shots in the ASUN opener against Stetson after missing the previous two games and the following seven contests. Morant averaged 5.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year, with the rebound average ranking 2nd on the team behind only Norelia.
Morant’s 74 blocks in two years with FGCU are tied for the 3rd-most in program history, six short of moving into 2nd place all-time and 61 shy of surpassing Chase Fieler‘s record of 134 from 2010-14.
Since falling one win short of reaching the NCAA Tournament in its first season of D-I postseason eligibility in 2011-12, FGCU has played in the postseason each of the past four seasons (2013: NCAA; 2014: NIT; 2015: CIT; 2016: NCAA). With the success has come increased support from Southwest Florida as fans have flocked to Alico Arena in record-setting numbers.
Fans filled Alico (4,333 seats) last year to a capacity of 84.67 percent, ranking 50th in the nation (351 total) and ahead of such notable institutions as North Carolina (52nd, 84.26 percent), Ohio State (105th, 64.48 percent) and Elite 8 participant Oregon (126th, 60.39 percent). The only school in the state of Florida that had a higher percentage capacity last year than FGCU was Miami (37th, 87.89 percent).
The 2016-17 home schedule features 16 contests – nine in the non-conference portion and seven as part of the ASUN slate. The non-league contests at Alico Arena are highlighted by a trio of 20-win postseason teams from a season ago, including UT Arlington (24-11), Long Beach State (20-15) and Siena (21-13).
An extremely limited amount of reserved season tickets in Priority 2 and Priority 3 are available for $253 and $203, respectively, with great sight lines inside Alico Arena (Seating Chart). Additionally, single-game tickets for all home contests are also still available. Priority season-ticket holders will also join the Eagles Club with a required donation, giving them added membership benefits. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., over the phone by calling (239) 590-7145 or by visiting FGCUTickets.com.
The Eagles will unofficially commence their season at Dunk City After Dark, FGCU’s Midnight Madness event presented by The Reef, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27, at Alico Arena. The event is free to the public. The season officially gets underway with a neutral-site game against Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 11, with the home opener scheduled for Nov. 16 against UT Arlington at 7 p.m.
Preseason Player of the Year: Dallas Moore, North Florida
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Demetris Morant, FGCU
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Pos. (Year) Name, School
*G (Sr.) Dallas Moore, North Florida
*F (R-Sr.) Marc-Eddy Norelia, FGCU
*G (Sr.) Kendrick Ray, Kennesaw State
*G (Sr.) Damon Lynn, NJIT
*F (Sr.) Chris Davenport, North Florida
G (R-So.) Zach Johnson, FGCU
G (Sr.) Josh Williams, Lipscomb
G (Sr.) Tim Coleman, NJIT
F (So.) Derick Newton, Stetson
F (Gr.) Brian Pegg, Stetson
* Denotes unanimous selection to preseason team
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
(1st-Place Votes) Points
1. FGCU (6) 62
2. North Florida (2) 50
3. NJIT 47
4. Lipscomb 40
5. Stetson 34
6. Jacksonville 24
7. Kennesaw State 20
8. USC Upstate 11
PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
(1st-Place Votes) Points
1. FGCU (42) 412
2. North Florida (8) 368
3. NJIT 286
4. Stetson 234
5. Jacksonville (2) 218
6. Lipscomb 204
7. Kennesaw State 160
8. USC Upstate 70
Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year: Dallas Moore, North Florida (292 votes)
Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Divine Myles, Stetson (213 votes
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